The business has been renamed Famco Service and Machine Inc.

Avis Industrial Corp., Upland, Indiana, has completed its acquisition of the assets of Femco Machine, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, a provider of machining, aftermarket and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts and repair and field services. For more than 60 years, Femco and its employees have supported the recycling, industrial manufacturing, construction, aggregate and mining and oil and gas industries with products and services.

The business has been renamed Famco Service and Machine Inc., reflecting the robust combination of the Femco and Avis companies, and will continue to operate, as it has since 1964, in Punxsutawney. With service, machining and production capabilities, Famco will continue to serve current customers and industries while being able to support the installed base of equipment across the Avis portfolio companies, including recycling equipment manufacturer Harris.

Avis Industrial is a diversified global supplier of products and solutions through its portfolio of wholly owned subsidiary companies.

Avis Industrial President and CEO Greg King says, “We look forward to working with this great team and growing the business. Their capabilities and experience are unmatched. This transaction complements our existing subsidiaries very well and is a natural fit for our focus on service and support of heavy industries and manufacturing.”

In addition to Famco, Avis Industrial is the parent company of AI International Inc., Louisville, Kentucky; The American Baler Co., Bellevue, Ohio; Crankshaft Machine Co., Jackson, Michigan; Edgerton Forge Inc., Edgerton, Ohio; The Harris Waste Management Group, Cordele and Baxley, Georgia, and Tewkesbury, United Kingdom; James Steel & Tube Co., Madison Heights, Michigan; Pacific Forge Inc., Fontana, California; Peninsular Cylinder Co. Inc., Roseville, Michigan; and Sellick Equipment Ltd., Harrow, Ontario.

The company says the device allows operators or contractors to track workers and alerts if they’re in danger. 

SecuraTrac, a Hermosa Beach, California-based provider of mobile health and safety solutions focused on senior safety, employee well-being and the health care industry, has announced the launch of its next-generation mobile personal emergency response system (mPERS) pendant. Called the MobileDefender Model S, the safety pendant helps ensure the safety of those who use the MD-S and the SecuraTrac platform.    

According to a news release from SecuraTrac, companies that dispatch employees into unknown environments and situations can rely on the device to relay information about employee locations while providing a connection to help if an emergency occurs. The device has a variety of applications in the recycling industry, including drivers, workers in material recovery facilities and on demolition sites.    

In addition to location technologies, the Model S also offers a built-in Fall Advisory capability. It can detect horizontal and vertical movement, so if an employee falls on the job or is knocked over, he or she does not have to initiate a call for help the device will trigger automatically. The Model S leverages existing SecuraTrac cloud-based location technology, adding the ability for central stations to respond to potential accidents.   

To improve battery life the Model S was designed with a new Wake-on SOS feature. Wake-on SOS gives this small, mobile PERS device the ability to last over 30 days on a single charge because the device is off until the SOS button is activated. This preserves the battery while enabling the device to turn on, locate, transmit its location and make the emergency phone call after the SOS is activated.    

“There is no other product in the mPERS space capable of preserving battery life with a sleep mode like the Model S,” says Chris Holbert, CEO of SecuraTrac. “This plus all of the other great features in one, the small package is a game-changer. Not only can companies rest assured that they know where their human assets are at all times in the field, but companies and employees can also feel empowered about safety.”  

The division provides new replacements and rebuilt cutters for dual- and quad-shaft shredders.

Granutech-Saturn Systems, the Grand Prairie, Texas-based manufacturer of Saturn and 3TEK branded industrial and mobile shredders, has opened a Cutter Sales & Rebuild Division. According to the company, the new division allows it to deliver new and rebuilt cutters up to 30 percent faster than competitors can. In addition to providing legacy customers of dual- and quad-shaft Saturn shredders with replacement rebuilt cutter blades, including spacers or brand new blades, it can support major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) shredder customers by providing spec-match replacement cutters.

“We are so pleased to be able to leverage our nearly 40-year legacy in shredder manufacturing to offer this enhanced cutter replacement and rebuild capability to customers and support a broad variety of OEM’s aging industrial shredders,” says Matthew Morrison, president of Granutech-Saturn. “This is due as much to our engineering expertise and expansive manufacturing capability as well as our own vertically integrated, state-of-the-art MAC Machine and Gear custom machining and tool operation, which allows us to meet growing customer needs for replacement parts faster.”

Jonathan Maly, a seasoned recycling and automation professional who rejoined Granutech-Saturn in 2021, is the national sales manager for the new division.

“Whether you need brand-new replacement cutters or need your existing shredder cutters rebuilt, we have the capability to deliver a quality product, regardless of OEM shredder brand, with extremely competitive pricing and lead times that are often up to 30 percent faster than available elsewhere,” he says.

Maly adds that the company’s integrated workflow, with all machining occurring under one roof, and tenured employees enable faster lead times.

Additionally, the alloy Granutech is using for its rebuilds is stronger, resulting in longer service life for its rebuilds, he says.

The company says its manufacturing capabilities and facility, including its own machining and tooling division, enable Granutech to provide cost-effective, high-quality rebuilt cutters for other OEM shredders, with each cutter going through rigorous testing for the correct tolerances to adhere to original spec design.

For a quote or more information on Granutech-Saturn’s new Cutter Division capabilities, contact Maly at 440-212-4989 or at jmaly@granutech.com or visit www.granutech.com to view a brochure.

The exclusion is retroactive to 2021 and extends to Dec. 31, 2022.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has announced it will reinstate certain previously granted and extended product exclusions in its Section 301 investigation into China’s acts, policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation by excluding certain products from additional duties.   

This includes the tariff exclusion on shredder wear parts, retroactive to 2021, and extends the exclusion through Dec. 31, 2022. Shredder wear parts imported from China will not be assessed the additional 25 percent tariff that former President Donald Trump imposed in 2019 during this period.  

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, says the USTR granted an exemption in 2019, and in 2020 the government allowed companies and organizations to request the continuation of the exemption for one year, which was granted to all that requested it.  

Last year, the USTR invited public comments on whether to reinstate previously extended exclusions of 549 products, including shredder wear parts. ISRI says it submitted comments explaining why the exclusion for shredder wear parts should be reinstated. It also explained how tariffs have caused economic harm to U.S. small businesses, employment, manufacturing output and critical supply chains.  

ISRI says wear parts are essentially the heart of a shredder and need to be replaced almost daily, so having them in bulk is vital for U.S. recyclers. Since more than 85 percent of shredder wear parts are sourced from China, and those costs amount to 60 percent to 70 percent of the cost of operations in this sector, the 25 percent tariff would make a huge difference, especially to smaller operators. 

The association says New York’s Extended Producer Responsibility Act could triple recycling rates for residential materials and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), Washington, has endorsed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recycling proposal to enact an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program to boost recycling in the state.  

“APR strongly supports Gov. Hochul’s proposal to create an extended producer responsibility program to enhance the recycling of packaging and paper products in New York,” says Steve Alexander, president of the APR. "New Yorkers deserve a modern, effective recycling system. We urge support for Governor Hochul’s budget proposal for EPR for packaging and paper products to reinvigorate recycling, reduce waste, and put an end to the undue financial burdens of waste management and recycling on municipalities, taxpayers and ratepayers across the state.”  

The APR says the proposed EPR act would require consumer brands to finance the recycling of their packaging and printed paper and invest in expanding and modernizing local recycling infrastructure so that programs can handle new packaging materials as well as those not currently recycled.   

The act also incentivizes producers to generate less packaging overall and make the packaging they do use nontoxic and easier to reuse and recycle, fostering a circular economy for New York, according to the APR. Recycling more material overall would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 2.3 million metric tons annually, equal to taking 500,000 cars off the road.  

New York’s average recycling rate is currently at 18 percent, and average contamination rates in the U.S. are more than 25 percent. Most plastic recyclers in New York are not operating at full capacity and need more material to meet the demand for recycled resin, Alexander says.   

“Enacting EPR for packaging and paper could triple recycling rates for residential materials in New York, as existing packaging EPR programs around the world have achieved recycling rates over 70 percent, with contamination rates well below 10 percent,” Alexander says. 

Recently, Reloop North America released a report examining five states in the Northeast with existing bottle deposit programs. Part of those findings showed New York should modernize its deposit system, saying it would save the city between $71 million and $101 million annually.